Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)
, commonly referred to as , is a fictional character from Square Enix's video game franchise Kingdom Hearts. Having first made cameos in Kingdom Hearts II and other related titles, Ventus was introduced in the 2010 prequel Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep as one of the game's three playable protagonists. In its story, Ventus is introduced as the youngest apprentice of Master Eraqus who trains him alongside his best friends, Terra and Aqua, to become experienced warriors with the Keyblade. When Terra goes on a mission to find Master Xehanort, Ventus follows him, having also become concerned about his fate. As Ventus journeys through various worlds and battles dark creatures called the Unversed, he learns about his own origins as well as his relation to Xehanort's apprentice, Vanitas. Ventus was designed by director Tetsuya Nomura who wanted to create a character with an important connection with the series' main character Sora. Ventus bears a strong resemblance to the character of Roxas, both of whom are voiced by Kōki Uchiyama in Japanese and Jesse McCartney in English. After Ventus's first cameo, Nomura had to clarify that both of them are different characters, and that the reason for such connection would be revealed in Birth by Sleep. Video game websites also commented on Ventus's first appearance, initially confusing him for Roxas during the development of Birth by Sleep, but has since been well received. Creation and development When first designing Ventus, Tetsuya Nomura already decided the character should look like Sora or Roxas, and decided to choose the latter when thinking that Vanitas being revealed to have Sora's appearance would give a big impact to the gamers. Nomura wanted Ventus's personality to more closely resemble Sora's, which led to his outgoing personality, yet at the same time he wanted him to become more serious as the game progressed to make them distinct. Ventus was first shown in the secret endings of Kingdom Hearts II and its rerelease Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix. Ventus's name first appeared as a code in a 2006 Tokyo Game Show promotional video of the games. While making Final Mix''s ending, Nomura had only developed the backstory for Terra, Aqua and Ventus and not their appearances, but had to finish their design for the end of game cameo. Nomura did not reveal their identities, and only stated that the three character were from the chronological past of the ''Kingdom Hearts series. Following their release, Nomura stated that his nickname was Ven. Ventus was first mentioned by the character Lingering Sentiment in Final Mix as Ven, while his full name was still unrevealed. He also mentioned a connection between him and Xemnas but wanted to leave it up to people's imaginations as he still could not reveal his identity. Nomura commented that, despite how similar they are, Roxas and Ventus are not the same character. Additionally, he stated that by playing Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, players will be able to distinguish Roxas from Ventus and that the game explores his true personality. In another interview, Nomura implied both characters are related, specifically to Sora, but he wanted fans to imagine reasons for such connection. The guidebook Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania clarified the connection, stating that Roxas and Ventus look alike because Ventus's heart entered Sora's body, and that Ventus's presence influenced Roxas's appearance when he was created. In early versions of development, Nomura planned to have Ventus's broken heart be healed by the heart of Sora before he was born, but after negative feedback from overseas coworkers, it was abandoned. Like Roxas, Ventus has been voiced Kōki Uchiyama in Japanese and Jesse McCartney in English. Ventus's name means "wind" in Latin; both it and his Keyblade's default form, , have a "sky" theme similar to that of Sora's. During the development of Birth by Sleep, the Osaka team in charge of developing the game suggested that Ventus should be related with Vanitas, something which Nomura liked as he wanted to add more connections within the story; Vanitas's name was chosen to sound similar to Ventus's name. Nomura had trouble designing the armor for Ventus, Terra, and Aqua, since the gameplay mechanism for activating their armor had not been fleshed out. Therefore, an "X" was added to their clothes as a way to activate the armor, as well as due to the fact it was one of the game's keywords. Ever since development of Birth by Sleep started, the staff already decided that Ventus, Aqua, and Terra's stories would be told in separate scenarios, with Ventus's story being the second one written. They also wanted emphasize the lack of coincidences in the series, leading to the interaction between the three scenarios. In the perspective of gameplay, Ventus was designed to be the easiest character to play with in Birth by Sleep, although Nomura recommended to players that Ventus should be the second character to play with in order to better understand the story. Additionally, the way Ventus handles his Keyblade backwards is meant to show the gameplay differences between his and Terra's and Aqua's scenarios. Nomura also remarked that Ventus's encounter with the characters Lea and Isa as an important event from the game, hoping both newcomers and older gamers will also find it important from Ventus's perspective. Story Kingdom Hearts Union χ Ventus was chosen by the Master of Masters to become a Dandelion and one of the five members to be a replacement Union leader. Once the Keyblade War is over, he then meets the other members at the Keyblade Graveyard. Noting Ephemer and Skuld's close friendship, Ventus admits that he is envious of them because he has always been alone. Skuld and Ephemer assure Ventus that they consider him a friend. When the fourth Union leader, Brain, arrives, he asks them if the rules Ava provided them were absolute, which Skuld confirms, prompting Ventus and Brain to comment that Skuld shares Ava's diligence. When Ventus and Brain voice their discomfort with lying to their comrades about the Keyblade War, Ephemer states that no one else should have to carry the burden of the past, a sentiment Ventus and the others accept. After the final Union leader, Lauriam, arrives, the Union leaders go to Daybreak Town and enter the Foretellers' Chamber. When Skuld proposes that they begin choosing which Union each of them will lead, Ephemer recommends that they maintain the Union χ in order to prevent the conflicts of the past world, with the other Union leaders agreeing to reconstitute the old system later as stated in the rules. Brain suggests that, while the Dandelions are reliving the events of the past, they collect the necessary ingredients to create new Spirits and sends Ventus, Ephemer, and Skuld to collect the ingredients while he and Lauriam stay behind to make the necessary preparations. Before Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Four years before Aqua and Terra take their Mark of Mastery exam, Ventus served as an apprentice to Master Xehanort, as part of the elderly Keyblade Master's plans to forge the legendary χ-blade. However, Ventus proved to be a poor candidate, and when he refused to use his darkness to fight several Neoshadow Heartless in the Keyblade Graveyard, Master Xehanort finally lost patience with him and used his own Keyblade to unlock and extract the darkness from Ventus's heart, using it to form a being of pure darkness who was then named "Vanitas" by Master Xehanort. Unfortunately, the process left Ventus in a comatose state, with his broken heart of pure light slowly fading out. Master Xehanort, disguised in a black coat, then took Ventus to the Destiny Islands to allow him to live out his last days peacefully. Ventus was sent to the Dive to the Heart, where he came in contact with the heart of a newborn Sora. After a brief discussion, Ventus's heart connected with Sora's, halting its deterioration and allowing Ven to stay alive until he someday becomes strong enough to repair the damage by himself. Ventus then summoned a Keyblade and shot a ray of light into the sky above, much to Master Xehanort's surprise. Xehanort decided that Ventus could still be of use in his master plan, but with Ventus still too weak in comparison to Vanitas, the two boys could not be trained under him since Vanitas had a naturally strong impulse to destroy Ventus. To prevent this, Xehanort brought Ventus to Land of Departure, where he could train as an apprentice to Master Eraqus. Terra and Aqua met Ventus with open arms. However, when Terra asked Ventus about his past, he screamed out in agony, eventually falling unconscious. Eraqus revealed that this was because Ven had lost his memories. Afterwards, he remained asleep for some time. As he slept, Aqua kept watch over him, to keep him safe. Some time later, Ven woke up. Overjoyed, Aqua quickly alerted Eraqus and a worried Terra about Ven's recovery. It was then that his heart began to heal and he started to form strong bonds of friendship with Terra and Aqua. During a training session, Ventus loses humiliatingly, but Terra and Aqua reassure Ven that he was getting stronger. As time went on, Terra and Ven grew close, forming a strong bond. Terra even went so far as to give Ven his wooden training Keyblade and recite a mock Bequeathing ceremony. Together, the three of them shared the same dream: to become Keyblade Masters. ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'' Years later, Ventus awakens to a meteor shower and hurries out to look at the stars. Later, both Terra and Aqua join him. When Ven asks about stars and the light, Terra explains how each star is another world and compares the light to Ven, who doesn't understand. After a brief spat between the two boys, they, along with Aqua, spar in order to prepare for the Mark of Mastery exam the next day. Following their workout, Aqua gives both Ven and Terra good luck charms and tells them the story behind the charms. The charms, also known as Wayfinders, were gifted with a powerful magic that formed an "unbreakable connection". Upon receiving the charms, Ven and his friends return to their castle for the night, eagerly awaiting the exam. However, things don't go smoothly. During the exam, Master Xehanort rigs the test, and the orbs of light attack Ven and his friends. Together, the three fight off the orbs, and the exam continues. After the exam, it is clear that Ventus has earned the interest of Master Xehanort and his apprentice, Vanitas. Though their intentions are rather ambiguous at the time, Vanitas decides to give Ventus some incentive to leave his home. When Vanitas appears in Ven's room, he leaves dark hints of Terra's fate and how he'll "become a different person". Ven becomes very defensive, telling Vanitas that he doesn't know the first thing about Terra. However, once Vanitas leaves, via the Corridor of Darkness, Ven hurries out to find his friend in hopes of giving him a warning. Unfortunately, Ven arrives much too late, as Terra leaves to go on his mission. Left with no other choice, Ventus leaves his home and begins a journey of his own. Ven visits a number of worlds and builds new friendships along the way. In the Dwarf Woodlands, he helps Snow White escape the woods and guides her to the Dwarfs' home. There, he learns that Snow White encountered Terra and immediately tries to get to the bottom of things. After facing several more Unversed along the way, Ven encounters the Queen in the form of an old lady, and she tells Ven that Terra threatened her with his Keyblade. Refusing to believe this, Ventus leaves in hopes of finding Terra, wondering what's gotten into him. Later, in the Castle of Dreams, Ven befriends Jaq and Cinderella. Though Terra isn't there, Ven still lends a hand, helping gather supplies for Cinderella's dress, and even facing Lucifer. When the dress is complete, Cinderella thanks Jaq and Ventus, and the two talk about their dreams. It's at this point that Ven decides that his dream is to become a Keyblade Master; the dream he and his friends all share. While in Enchanted Dominion, Ven gets another clue regarding Terra. After freeing Princess Aurora's heart, Ven encounters Maleficent. Maleficent reveals that Terra helped steal Aurora's heart, but Aqua arrives just in time to convince Ven otherwise. She then asks Ven to go home with her, but he refuses, remembering the cryptic warning left by Vanitas. Ven encounters Vanitas again after leaving Enchanted Dominion, and he follows him straight to the Keyblade Graveyard. There, Ven tries to get some answers out of Vanitas, who simply restates what he said before: that Terra will be gone forever. The two battle, but Vanitas easily outmatches Ven and nearly kills him. King Mickey arrives in time to save Ven and assists him in his battle against Vanitas. Upon his defeat, Vanitas tells Ventus that he is on probation and disappears, leaving Ven and Mickey alone. The two introduce themselves to one another, and Mickey tells Ven about how the Star Shard allows him to travel to different worlds. However, Mickey remains unaware of all of its secrets. Shortly after, the Star Shard sends them both to Radiant Garden, and Ven tries to follow Mickey, only to be intercepted by Aeleus and Dilan. After spying an Unversed, Ven gives up his search for Mickey and instead trails after the monster. He's interrupted several times, by Scrooge McDuck, who gives him lifetime passes to Disney Town, and Merlin, who tells him of the book to the 100 Acre Wood. Eventually, he does find the Unversed he was chasing, as well as Terra and Aqua. Together, they face the Trinity Armor, but after its defeat, things change for the worse. First, Aqua tries to tell Ven to go home, and then she and Terra get into a fight regarding the darkness and Eraqus's intentions. The whole time, Ven is left completely confused, as he'd never seen his friends bicker in such a way. In the end, he tells Aqua that she's let being a Master go to her head, and he leaves to find Terra again. His search is interrupted again, when he spots Ienzo being attacked by the Unversed. Without any hesitation, Ventus protects the boy and defeats his attackers. Even arrives shortly after and thanks Ventus for his help. Then, when asked about Terra's location, he tells Ven to look in the Outer Gardens. Though Ven does find Terra, their reunion is short lived, as Terra leaves, telling Ven that he can't come along, but that they will meet again when they need each other. Meeting up with Aqua again, Ven asks to come along, but Aqua orders him to return to the Land of Departure in a somewhat harsh manner. Seeing Ven's disappointment, Aqua softens and explains that she merely doesn't want him to get hurt before departing. For a while, Ven stays in Radiant Garden, reminiscing about the times when his friendship wasn't strained by newfound complications. He's left wondering just what it means to be friends, and after meeting Lea and Isa he becomes more and more curious about friendship. Thus, Ventus decides to continue his travels with a new resolve. Rather than search for Terra and Aqua, he decides to go out and make some new friends in hopes of redefining his simplistic views of friendship. It doesn't take long for Ven to find companions, as he quickly meets Zack and Hercules in Olympus Coliseum. After stopping an Unversed threat, Ven finally comes to understand what it means to be friends, and realizes that he, Terra, and Aqua will patch things up someday. Eventually, Ventus finds Mickey's Star Shard in Neverland, only to have it stolen, along with Tinker Bell, by Captain Hook. He teams up with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys to defeat Captain Hook. Afterwards, Ventus, along with Peter and the Lost Boys, decide to put their own personal treasures in the empty chest they stole from Hook. As the Wooden Keyblade holds many cherished memories for Ven, he puts it in the chest, believing his best memories with Terra and Aqua are still to come. With Hook out of the way, he also retrieves the Star Shard from Tinker Bell after a little persuasion from Peter, only to be whisked away to the Mysterious Tower. Upon his arrival, Ven meets Donald Duck and Goofy, who take him to speak with Yen Sid. Ven is informed that Mickey went missing, but when Yen Sid uses his magic to find him, they discover that the King is in danger. Determined to save Mickey, Ven departs from the Tower and returns to the Keyblade Graveyard to find him. However, he also encounters Master Xehanort, who was waiting for his arrival, and reveals Ven's destiny to forge the χ-blade. He tells Ven that this is the real reason why he was never allowed to leave home and constantly told to return, out of fear for the χ-blade's creation. After learning of his past, Ventus returns to Eraqus, only for his Master to try and destroy him upon realizing Xehanort's plans. Fortunately, he is saved by Terra and sent to Destiny Islands, much to his displeasure. There, he encounters Vanitas again, who taunts Ven into remembering how Master Xehanort broke their heart in twain. Once the memories return, Vanitas decides to give Ventus a reason to fight: Vanitas tells Ventus to come to the Keyblade Graveyard, the only place where the χ-blade can be forged, and threatens to kill Terra and Aqua to see if Ventus will continue to "play the pacifist." Left with no choice, Ven leaves in hopes of setting things right, once and for all. Once reunited with his friends, Ventus explains the situation between himself and Vanitas, and, admitting that he is terrified over the very thought of the χ-blade, asks to be destroyed in the event that he does have to fight Vanitas, much to their shock. However, there's little time to mull over Ven's request, as both Master Xehanort and Vanitas arrive. During their final battle at the Keyblade Graveyard, Master Xehanort encases Ven in ice and throws him off a cliff. Aqua manages to catch him before he hits the ground. Braig quickly appears and fights Aqua. Stalling long enough, Braig withdraws from the battle. Vanitas knocks out Aqua as he drops down from a cliff. Before the enigma can finish her off, Ventus uses all of his willpower to thaw out of his frozen state and encounters Vanitas. Ven then fights Vanitas and seemingly emerges victorious. After the battle, Vanitas reveals his true intentions and explains that the Unversed came from his own emotions and negativity. Trapping Ven with several Floods, Vanitas merges with Ventus and takes over his body. The fusion completes Ventus, but Vanitas keeps control over the body. As a result of their union, the χ-blade is forged. However, Mickey arrives on the scene and helps Aqua awaken. Together, they engage Ventus-Vanitas in a battle and emerge victorious, causing the χ-blade to be damaged by their fight. As this happens, Vanitas and Ventus engage in a metaphysical battle, where Vanitas tries to complete his fusion with Ventus and complete the χ-blade. Ven, however, refuses and chooses to defeat Vanitas and destroy the weapon, even if it means the destruction of his own heart, because of his devotion to his friends. The two engage in a decisive battle, and towards the climax, Vanitas forces a D-Link on Ventus in hopes of completing their fusion. Ventus instead took advantage of the powers the D-Link granted him and used it to destroy the χ-blade along with Vanitas. Unfortunately, this also damages Ventus's heart and causes it to flee his body, leaving him in a comatose state. Despite being comatose, Ventus was able to summon his Keyblade and lead Aqua back to the Land of Departure. Aqua later places his body in a chamber and transforms the Land of Departure into Castle Oblivion. Though Ventus's heart was initially lost in darkness, Sora was able to sense Ventus's pain due to their previous encounter. Sora, with encouragement and guidance from Riku, called out to Ventus's heart and safely guides it to himself. After a brief conversation, Ven asks Sora if he could stay with Sora while he slept, to which Sora happily accepted. With this, his heart passes on into Sora's body, keeping it from deteriorating any further and granting Sora the ability to use Ventus's Keyblade in addition to his own.Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania, p. 617; Interviewer: "Why can Roxas dual-wield?" / Tetsuya Nomura: "Sora can wield two Keyblades at once because he has Ventus's as well as his own. As Roxas is a part of Sora, he also can use two. In Days, Roxas awakened his ability to dual wield after fighting Xion. In KHII, once Sora absorbs him, he can also dual-wield." Translation via Lissar. ''Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-'' In the Realm of Darkness, Aqua encounters a vision of Ventus sleeping in Snow White's coffin. Upon closer inspection, Ventus disappears. Later, Aqua encounters phantoms of Terra and Ventus, pursuing them through the Forest of Thorns. When she catches up with them, Terra explains to her that his heart is tied to the darkness and that the Ventus beside him is an illusion created by her heart. Aqua wonders if this means Ventus and Terra are safe on the outside world, and while Terra thinks so, he warns her that Xehanort is looking for Ventus. As Aqua assures him that she has hidden Ventus somewhere where no one will find him, Terra's spirit transforms into Terra-Xehanort. Terra-Xehanort wonders if Ventus is in the Chamber of Waking and, when questioned by Aqua, begins to reveal his identity. However, Terra overpowers Xehanort's will, informing her of Xehanort's ruse to learn of Ventus's whereabouts. Between Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Some time after Marluxia's recruitment, Zexion and Xigbar discussed how Xemnas ordered the construction of the Chamber of Repose and how he seals himself in there talking to his "friend", which in reality was Aqua's discarded armor. They further discussed that the Chamber of Repose is one of a pair, with the Chamber of Waking being the other and that is where Xemnas would find Ventus, whom Xigbar referred to as his other "friend". ''Kingdom Hearts'' When Sora learns that Kairi's heart has taken refuge within his body, he uses the Keyblade of heart to free her heart, which also releases his and creates his Nobody, Roxas. For unknown reasons, Ventus's heart remained within Sora's body, causing Roxas to take on Ventus's appearance instead of Sora's. ''Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days'' Saïx assigned Roxas to Castle Oblivion and ordered Axel to accompany him. As soon as Roxas entered through the door, his close proximity to Ventus, due to carrying Ventus's heart, caused Roxas to suddenly become weak and fall unconscious. It was hinted Ventus's memories were rushing into Roxas as Roxas complained about "so much being rushed into his head". Xigbar sees Xion (an imperfect replica of Roxas) as Ventus. Xigbar states that Ventus had always looked at him as if he had "drowned his goldfish" before he is defeated by Xion. Ventus is also alluded to many times by Xemnas, who desperately seeks to find him in the Chamber of Waking. Xemnas sends Axel numerous times to Castle Oblivion to locate Ventus, but Axel never succeeds. ''Kingdom Hearts II When Sora is first accosted by Organization XIII at Hollow Bastion, Xigbar stays behind to taunt him, at one point comparing his glare to the one Ventus once showed him as Braig. When Sora runs into Xigbar at The World That Never Was, he remarks that Sora doesn't look like "half the hero" Terra, Ventus, and Aqua were. Kingdom Hearts coded Data-Naminé tells Mickey and Data-Sora that Ventus is one of the ones connected to Sora's heart that must be saved. Later on, Mickey tells Yen Sid that they may be close to finding Ventus's heart. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance When Sora travels to The World That Never Was, he is plagued with illusions by Young Xehanort, Xemnas and Xigbar in an attempt to get him to fall asleep and leave his heart vulnerable to damage. In one illusion, Sora takes on Ventus's form before Terra and Aqua, and apparently feels Ventus's pain of losing them again, prompting him to run after Terra and Aqua as they walk away. Following Sora's descent into darkness after his heart is damaged by Xemnas and Young Xehanort, Ventus's heart envelops Sora in Ventus's Keyblade Armor in order to protect him from being swallowed completely, though it is temporarily corrupted by the darkness until Riku saves him. He later appears inside the research data that Ansem the Wise hid inside Sora a year ago, but Riku, having never met Ventus before, initially mistakes him for Roxas. Physically, Ventus continues to sleep within Castle Oblivion. At the same time as Sora returning to Traverse Town and reuniting with his Dream Eater Spirit friends, Ventus slightly smiles from Sora's happiness. ''Kingdom Hearts III Shortly after defeating Randall in Monstropolis, Sora and co. are confronted by the revived Vanitas, who had sent the Unversed to that world in the hopes of re-completing his heart with negative emotions. Realizing that was not enough, Vanitas decides to forcibly take out the sleeping half of himself that resides within Sora. Attacking Sora, Vanitas revealed the connection the two have with each other, which Goofy added that Ventus's heart was lost after his fight with Vanitas years ago. While traveling to the next world, Sora and co. receive another call from Ienzo, who has found information in Ansem the Wise’s research, specifically that there are three hearts within Sora’s including Roxas. Goofy surmises that one of the other two hearts must be Ventus’. Ventus is mentioned by Lea while he is talking with Kairi. He tells her how he met Ventus years ago, but forgot about him until he met Roxas, who looked identical. He goes on to tell Kairi that he never told Roxas this, out of fear that he might disappear, too, and that Ventus is one of the three missing Keyblade wielders that Sora and Riku are looking for. Lea worries that Ventus will have forgotten about him like he did, but Kairi remains confident that Ventus will never forget Lea. After her return to the Realm of Light, Aqua has Sora, Donald, and Goofy accompany her to Castle Oblivion, intending to retrieve Ventus. After unlocking the Castle’s Keyhole, thus restoring it to the former glory of the Land of Departure, the group heads inside and find Ventus's body. Aqua quickly realizes his heart has not returned yet. Vanitas appears, having followed them with the intention of taking Ventus’ heart for himself. Aqua attempts to protect Ventus by herself, but gets injured after taking a blast from Vanitas. As the Vanitas prepared to deliver the final blow to kill Aqua, Ventus’ heart reacted within Sora's heart, helping the latter unlock his power of Waking. Ventus's heart is returned to its body, and he launches himself at Vanitas, saving Aqua. After Vanitas departs, Ventus reunites with Aqua and meets Sora face to face for the first time. They all depart back to Yen Sid’s castle. Yen Sid is happy that both Aqua and Ventus have returned, though Mickey tells them that they still haven’t found Terra yet. Both Ventus and Aqua are confident that they will find him and bring him back. As Lea rambles about how confusing everything has become, Ventus calls him by name. Lea is shocked that Ventus still remembers him, to which Ventus affirms that they are still friends. Regarding Terra, Ventus reaffirms his promise to find him. With their clash against the Seekers of Darkness imminent, Aqua and Ventus take time to star-gaze outside. Ventus uses this moment to admit to Aqua that while he was sleeping, he would have dreams of her, Terra, Sora and the others. He also expressed memories of weird animal creatures. Aqua says that she's been places too, but she can't wait until things are back to the normal. Ventus and Aqua hold their Wayfinders to the sky, promising to share their stories with Terra after they save him. The next day, Ventus and the other Guardians arrive at the Keyblade Graveyard, where they are immediately confronted by Master Xehanort and his various incarnations. Ventus sees Terra in the middle of the wasteland, but Aqua immediately realizes that it is not Terra. Her suspicions are confirmed when Terra's hair goes from brown to white, revealing himself to be Terra-Xehanort. Mickey concludes Terra-Xehanort is the thirteenth member of the Real Organization. Terra-Xehanort tells them that they will lose this fight, that all their hearts will be torn apart one by one. Nonetheless, Terra-Xehanort assures them the χ-Blade will be forged. Terra-Xehanort attacks both Lea and Ventus, removing them from combat, and while Donald destroys Terra-Xehanort with Zettaflare, the Demon Tide proceeds to take advantage of their weakness and eliminate Aqua, Ventus, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Lea, and Kairi. While Sora is distraught over the loss of his friends and yields to the Demon Tower, Riku defends his friend long enough to re-inspire hope in Sora's Heart before both are consumed by the Darkness as well. Thanks to Kairi, Sora is able to maintain his existence in The Final World. When he is restored, he is returned to the moment in which he and Riku were consumed by Darkness, at which point Sora reaches out to Riku's Heart and is guided to him as a Lich attempts to draw Riku's Heart into the deepest depths of Darkness. Sora manages to release Riku's heart, alongside Aqua's and the others, battling the Lich time and time again in order to restore his fallen friends. When Kairi guides Sora back to the Keyblade Graveyard, the group reinitiates their encounter with Terra-Xehanort, only when Terra-Xehanort attempts to attack Ventus, the Lingering Will intervenes, having been guided to the Guardians of Light by Naminé. Seeing the Lingering Will struggle in the battle, Ventus moves into help, but Aqua stops him, saying they need to handle the army of Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed coming from behind them. Then, when it seems darkest, Sora is aided by the light of the past in taking down the Demon Tide. Yen Sid then takes this opportunity to cast back the Heartless in order to allow the Guardians of Light to proceed, with Donald and Goofy staying behind in order to help. The Guardians of Light are subsequently separated by Xehanort when he raises a labyrinth around them. Fighting his way to his friends, Sora finds Ventus and Aqua fighting against Terra-Xehanort and Vanitas. With Sora's help, Ventus amd Aqua are able to take Vanitas down. The three then attempt to reach out to Terra once more, but Xehanort uses his control over Terra's body to bind Aqua, Sora, and Ventus in chains. Intent on destroying them once and for all, Terra-Xehanort lifts Aqua and Ventus high into the sky and lets them fall. Breaking through Xehanort's control, Terra reveals himself to be the Guardian used as a weapon by Terra-Xehanort and Ansem, swooping in to save Aqua and Ventus just in time. Afterwards, the Guardian rips off the bandages covering its mouth and declares that it will set things right, as it goes after Terra-Xehanort. Sora then steps in to unlock Terra-Xehanort's heart, in order to release Terra's Heart from Xehanort's control and allow the Guardian to reclaim Terra's body, restoring him. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus then share in a tearful reunion, happy to be together again for the first time in over a decade. After Master Xehanort successfully summons the χ-blade and unlocks Kingdom Hearts, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua regroup with the others. After sharing a glance with Roxas upon noticing their similarity, Ventus aids Sora in trapping Xehanort, who acts as a portal himself due to his existence transcending both space and time - something his younger self had unintentionally revealed to Riku during the Mark of Mastery. Ventus remains in the Keyblade Graveyard while Sora uses the portal to fight Xehanort, alongside Mickey, Riku, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Aqua, and Terra, in order to close Kingdom Hearts. Following Xehanort's defeat, Ventus journeys through the portal to Scala ad Caelum alongside the other Guardians of Light. Here, Eraqus's Heart emerges from Terra's and demands that Xehanort hand over the χ-Blade. After some convincing, Xehanort relinquishes the χ-Blade to Sora, at which point Eraqus turns his attention to his former pupils - apologizing to them for everything he'd put them through in a tearful reunion before allowing his Heart to move on alongside Xehanort's. With everything as it should be, Sora uses the χ-Blade to bring them all back to the Realm of Light. After leaving his Wayfinder at Eraqus' grave at the Land of Departure, Ventus notices Chirithy spying on them, and calls to it with open arms. The Chirithy bounds over happily and leaps into his arms, cuddling him before being introduced to Aqua and Terra. After some time, Ventus joins Terra, Aqua, Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Lea, Isa, Xion, Roxas, Hayner, Pence, Olette, and a newly restored Naminé in a fun day at the beach, though Kairi, who Sora had helped restore, remains separated from the group with Sora, who then disappears. Other appearances ''Blank Points Ventus sleeps on a bench outside in the Land of Departure before Terra wakes him by approaching him. They both smile and look up to the sky while uttering Sora's name with a sense of renewed hope. The significance of this scene has yet to be revealed, since Terra is trapped inside Terra-Xehanort, Ventus is inside Castle Oblivion and the Land of Departure is itself Castle Oblivion. Design According to Tetsuya Nomura, he is approximately 16 years old.Tokyo Game Show 2018 Ventus bears an uncanny resemblance to Roxas, bearing identical facial features. Further highlighting this resemblance is Ventus's outfit, which is strikingly similar to Roxas's own Twilight Town clothes. He wears a jacket that resembles a fusion of Roxas's jacket (white on the right side) and Sora's jacket in ''Kingdom Hearts II (black on the left side), also reminiscent of the Yin and Yang symbol. The collar of the jacket is red and pleated, again, similar to the collar on Roxas's own jacket. Underneath this, he wears what appears to be a grey vest with a single button and several white, angular patterns on it. He wears a third layer under this, in the form of a plain, high-necked, black shirt. He also has a chunk of dull green and grey armor on his midsection that appears to be under his vest, and another piece of armor on his left shoulder. Ventus's pants are also similar to the pants Roxas wore, though Ven's balloon outward slightly before closing up about halfway down his legs, similar to caprice pants. These pants are colored in shades of grey, black, and white. He also wears an ornate, dull green and grey piece of armor on his upper-left arm, along with a black and white checkered wristband that is, once again, strikingly similar to Roxas's, but with white edges as opposed to Roxas's black-edged wristband. Like Aqua, he wears two criss-crossing straps on his chest, on which he wears a silver Keyblade Master emblem. His boots are rather odd when compared to Aqua's and Terra's, as they resemble an armored version of normal street shoes in shades of dull green and grey. When touching the piece of armor on his shoulder, Ventus becomes fully clad in armor. In , Ventus's suit of armor shares the coloration of the pieces he normally wears, predominantly sporting shades of green and gold. In this suit, Ventus adds a yellow cape to his outfit that is discolored, almost appearing rusted. The armor on his knee is gold and bears a sharp, upward-pointing hook on the outer side of each one. Ventus's helmet has a notably different design from Aqua and Terra's, appearing more squashed and flat at the top. His helmet also has two prongs on either side of his head which point backwards and angle diagonally upward. Strangely, Ventus's boots are colored completely gold in this outfit, as opposed to the multi-colored ones he normally wears. In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Ventus's armor is altered. He loses his cape, his boots change to more closely resemble those in his unarmored state, and the coloration changes much more than Terra or Aqua's. Ventus's armor loses the greens entirely, now sporting steel blue, gold, and black armor, with several red lines decorating it. His name means "wind" in Latin, similar to how Sora's name is Japanese for "sky". The official Japanese website refers to Ventus as the . Personality During his apprenticeship with Master Xehanort, Ventus appears to be a very timid boy who did not particularly have the courage to wield a Keyblade, leading Xehanort to create Vanitas. After waking up from the coma caused by Vanitas's creation, Ventus becomes far more fragile, becoming wrought with anguish just by being talked to. However, the time he spends with Aqua and Terra, as well as his amnesia, causes him to change. In the present day, Ventus has many similarities with Sora: he is sweet, cheerful, curious, and gets excited at anything new or interesting. As the youngest of the three Keyblade warriors, Ventus is often protected by Terra and Aqua, and thus feels disappointed whenever they refuse to allow him to join them on their missions because they do not want to put him in danger. When he gives them their passes to Disney Town, he grudgingly mentions that Scrooge McDuck told him to "take two grown-ups," but he doesn't seem to dislike his status as the youngest of the three. He also makes new friends easily in different worlds and cares deeply about Terra and Aqua. Ventus is very much unable to cope with Terra turning and subsiding to the darkness in his heart. Some of his traits and personality might have passed on to Sora when his heart joined him. Along with his kind personality, he also shows a lot of bravery, especially evident when he battles Vanitas for the final time, where he promises to fight for his friends no matter what, knowing the fact that he would lose his heart as a result. Ventus's mannerisms are also echoed by Sora and Roxas; in particular, when standing around he often places his hands behind his head, in the same stance that Sora uses. Another example is in the opening video; Ventus is shown falling through a Station of the Dive to the Heart due to the Kingdom Key and Soul Eater shattering the pillar, in a similar way to how Sora and Roxas fall from shattered Stations at the beginning of their games. At the beginning of his episode at the Land of Departure, Ventus falls asleep outside after watching a shooting star, and a little while later, he yawns, and then is startled to find Aqua standing over him, who giggles upon his reaction and teases him affectionately, mirroring how Kairi startled Sora awake in the original Kingdom Hearts. Abilities Keyblade and fighting style Out of the main protagonists of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Ventus is the fastest and most agile, which reflects in his primary fighting style of dodging, quick movements and swift combo attacks. Ventus has an affinity for the wind and Lugh elements and mixes both into several of his techniques and magic attacks. Ven's primary battle style consists of very fast, wide backhanded strikes with his Keyblade in quick succession to deal damage. His single strikes aren't as powerful as Sora's two-handed strikes or Terra's powerful blows, but his ability to attack quickly makes up for his lower attack power. In addition to his swift standard attacks, Ventus has access to a variety of exclusive s in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Ven can use his natural affinity for acrobatics to unleash an extended version of the Ars Arcanum-Combo and exhibits advanced Keyblade-throwing abilities like Wind Raid, Spark Raid and Treasure Raid. Using his wind affinity, Ventus can use Tornado Strike to sweep his opponents away. Another exclusive, ultimate attack, Salvation, enables Ventus to use his light affinity to its fullest. Ventus also makes heavy use of his wind powers in his personal finishing commands, the Air Flair series and his ultimate finisher, Stratosphere. Lastly, Ventus has another "Finish" Command exclusive to him, which is called Celebration. Magic Although not as skilled in magic as his classmate, Aqua, Ventus has access to a broad variety of magic spells as well as two spells exclusive to him in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. These two spells are Tornado and faith. Tornado creates a powerful gust of wind that absorbs enemies, while Faith creates a powerful burst of light around Ventus. Miscellaneous Beside a variety of these abilities usable by all three or two of the protagonists in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Ventus has access to three unique Command Styles and two exclusive Shotlocks. His first personal Command Style, Fever Pitch, which is gained near the beginning of the game, lets Ventus use his speedy combat style to its fullest. The second exclusive Command Style, Cyclone, is a powerful 2nd level Command Style which has Ventus use his wind powers to attack with wide-ranged spinning slashes in all directions. Ventus's third exclusive Command Style is called Wingblade. By activating this second level Command Style, Ventus discards his Keyblade in exchange for six silver-white glowing swords of light which float behind him like six glowing wings, reminiscent of the picture of a Seraph, a six-winged Angel. Ventus also has access to two unique Shotlocks, as well as a third just for storyline purposes. The two freely usable Shotlocks are Pulse Bomb and Multivortex. The third exclusive Shotlock is Dark Link, which can only be used when in a Dimension Link with Vanitas in Ventus's final battle. Small and spry, Ventus has access to the already well-known Dodge Roll technique, as well as an offensive variant named Thunder Roll. Furthermore, he can use the Glide and Superglide abilities as well as another offensive version called Fire Glide. The Reversal command allows Ventus to quickly dodge an enemies attack and rush behind it, similar to the Reaction Command in Kingdom Hearts II used against the Dusk Nobodies. D-Link Ventus becomes a D-Link for Terra and Aqua after they receive Aqua's handmade Wayfinders. While in link with Ventus, the user can use swift and quick commands, which reflects Ventus' speed-oriented fighting style. Weapons Ventus's Keyblades are primarily balanced in terms of attack and magic power. His versions of common Keyblades are shorter in length compared to Terra and Aqua's; this helps him better wield them in his signature backhand style. Ventus also has three exclusive Keyblades; his original Keyblade, Wayward Wind, along with Frolic Flame and Lost Memory. Frolic Flame is obtained after Ventus meets Lea and Isa, and Lost Memory is received when Ven remembers his past on Destiny Islands. File:Wooden Sword KHBBS.png|Wooden Sword File:Wooden Keyblade KHBBS.png|Terra's Wooden Keyblade, passed down to Ventus. File:Wayward Wind KHBBS.png|Wayward Wind File:Frolic Flame KHBBS.png|Frolic Flame File:Lost Memory KHBBS.png|Lost Memory Reception Due to his resemblance with Roxas, video game publications initially thought that Roxas would be one of the protagonists from Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep upon seeing one of Ventus's images. However, when it was revealed that the two were separate characters, publications continued to discuss how similar they were and if there was a connection between them. GamesRadar particularly thought that there would be an eventual connection between the two of them and Sora. Amanda L. Kondolojy from Cheat Code Central also commented on speculations regarding the similarities between both of them, but mentioned that due to the existence of Nobodies in series, it is hard to find them as coincidences. When Jesse McCartney confirmed he was working on the English localization of Birth by Sleep, sites thought that he would voice Ventus, as he also voiced Roxas in previous titles. The character's story and actions shown in the demonstrations were praised for being the "most original take on Kingdom Hearts" and yet "frustratingly traditional". Upon Ventus's introduction in Birth by Sleep, X-Play found the character to be very similar to Sora's due to his friendly attitude. Kevin VanOrd from the same site gave praise to Ventus's character for his "well-meaning" and yet not "annoying" personality. The site also said that the time players spend playing with Ventus would be "rewarding" and commented on the English voice acting. PlayStation LifeStyle's Thomas Williams found the trio of Ventus, Terra and Aqua as welcome additions to the franchise, finding their stories enjoyable even though the three travel to the same worlds. On the other hand, PALGN found the three characters unappealing, labelling Ventus as "just a Roxas clone, but without his personality." In contrast to 1UP's comments towards Ventus's actions in Cinderella's world, VanOrd commented on such interactions to be "more bothersome than boisterous." Writing for GamesRadar, Chris Antistaer called Ventus a "Roxas-clone", and did not understand why he was briefly featured in Kingdom Hearts II. Bob Muir from Destructoid noted that fans considered Ventus to be the most important character in Birth by Sleep due to his similarities to Roxas. Additionally, Miur praised Jesse McCartney's work as Ventus's English voice actor for making his story mode more engaging to players. Notes and references Category:Characters designed by Tetsuya Nomura Category:Kingdom Hearts characters Category:Male video game characters Category:Square Enix protagonists Category:Fictional knights Category:Fictional swordsmen Category:Fictional possession victims Category:Fictional characters introduced in 2010